Trail of Silver Skulls Ch. 01

The last thing Anna remembered before she passed out was the taste of bile as she threw up in the bathroom of some college bar downtown.

Opening her eyes, she groaned at the darkness surrounding her and tried to press a hand against her forehead. Pain throbbed like a jackhammer in her skull and she squeezed her eyes shut again against the dim and yellow light around her. Her arm moved a little towards her face and then stopped as if refusing to obey. Frowning, she tugged harder with the same result. Her mouth felt like it was coated with a layer of dusty sand and she swallowed on a dry throat.

It was quiet around her, too quiet which was strange given that the bar had been in the middle of the city surrounded by everything her small hometown didn't have. The group of friends she had gone out with were also nowhere to be found, probably having abandoned her somewhere to go hang out with Chad instead. Having been the one who invited her out in the first place, whatever stories Anna heard about football players before Chad surpassed them all. Standing six feet tall with blond hair and blue eyes, it was a dream come true when he approached her with an invitation for a night out in the town. She had accepted of course with the opportunity to finally get a boyfriend too good to be true. Now however with her head pounding as she lay against the ground, he was just about the last thing on her mind.

A few more minutes passed in silence as Anna lay in misery fighting against the throbbing inside her soul. It wasn't until she heard a voice call out to her that fear began to race through her head.

"Making yourself comfortable?"

Panic raced through her as Anna tried to stumble to her feet and failed tripping as she went. Then, the fear grew into full blown terror as she felt the sharp circular edge of the metal handcuffs around her wrist. As her body dumped adrenaline into the fog of drunkenness around her, the reality of the situation began to seep in.

"Annabel Farthwing, eighteen years old, brown hair, brown eyes, freshman majoring in biology with an interest in mathematics as well."

The voice was deep and male like rough iron over stone. Keeping as still as possible, Anna shifted her eyes around the small puddle of light surrounding her as she tried to find the source. On the second pass, she found a glimmer in the dark and made out a pair of leather boots just outside the light. They were heavy working boots, not utilitarian enough to be those of a worker but still rugged enough that she could see the worn patches of leather where the brush had scraped up against the side. What scared her the most about them however were the two silver skulls set into the end with emeralds for eyes. Out here in the south and so close to the border, those silver skulls could mean only one thing and fresh fear rushed into her as she drew away.

Emeralds and silver skulls, the Mexican slave cartels.

The man stepped forward throwing something onto the ground in front of her and Anna struggled to make out the objects laying before her. Her heart leapt into her throat as she recognized her driver's license and her student ID followed by her only credit card. Kicking them to the side, the man walked forward and knelt before her in the light.

"And judging from the way you were throwing those shots back, no boyfriend or friends to worry tomorrow where you've gone missing as well," he said.

Hard eyes peered out at her from under the man's hat, the wide cowboy rim helping to hide his face in the dark. His sudden closeness was the final straw causing her to jump and finally find her voice, her throat cracking as she struggled against the dryness within.

"Who-... who are you?" gasped Anna, "I'll-... I'll call the police, get away from me."

There was a pause, as if she had just said something the man didn't expect. Then, to her surprise, he thew his head back and laughed. As raised his head, for the first time she saw his face. Rough and middle aged, the skin looked like it had been weathered and worn down by too much time in the sun. Despite that, his eyes were like points of steel as they sliced over her with not a single detail to spare. He chuckled as if she had just told a particularly funny joke.

"That's a good one missy, haven't heard something like that since the first time I started this job," he said, "Got a decent fighting spirit in you I can tell, Edgar likes that though. Looks like you were the right call to make."

Something about the way he spoke sounded familiar, southern though not quite. It wasn't as drawn out the same way her grandfather talked though it had the same distinct word choice that made it sound all the same. The man reached out to touch her face and Anna scrambled back away grasping around for anything to use as a weapon with her hands. With both her arms tied behind her back however, there was little she could do but flop around on the floor rubbing dust into her hair and clothes. All too late, she thought of the taser she kept in her purse. From the way the man stood though with his hands at his side, she had the feeling that even if she had a gun she still wouldn't be safe.

"Get-... Get any closer and I'll show you how much spirit I have," said Anna.

"The name's Eric," he said.

"W-... what?" said Anna.

"Eric Stormer," said Eric, "Though that'll be Master Eric to you from now on."

He looked down at her in amusement as he waited for her to tire out. When she finally stopped struggling, he reached forward again and with the world swimming around her, there was nothing Anna could do to stop him from doing as he pleased. A finger brushed over her lips and parted them as Eric opened her mouth and reached up to pinch her nose.

"I think you and I will have a wonderful time these next few days," he said, "Provided of course that you obey. We have plenty of ways to make sure you do of course so don't waste your pretty little head thinking elsewise."

Reaching out, he pressed a cloth over her mouth and Anna screamed too late to hold her breath. As the darkness around her crept into her vision, she saw two lights approaching in the distance and felt the rumble of an engine passing close by. Hands lifted her up as if she weighed almost nothing, her limbs now far too numb to tell. As the final sound of the door slamming shut reached her ears, her unconsciousness drifted off into the world of the unknown.